Somewhere between now and mid-August, Cougars pitcher Aaron Brown will either be tossing fastballs professionally or preparing for his senior year of college. He’ll have to choose between these two options after being taken by the Seattle Mariners in last week’s Major League Baseball Draft.
The junior right-hander was drafted in the ninth round (No. 285 overall) on Friday and could forego his final year of collegiate eligibility to chase his major league dreams. However, should Brown choose to return to Houston for one more season, he could pitch his way to being a higher draft selection in 2008. The latter move, if successful, would net him a larger signing bonus than the one he’ll likely receive as a ninth round selection.
The average bonuses of the 24 ninth round picks who were signed from the 2006 draft class was $111,730 and the median figure was $70,000. Seattle’s ninth round pick received a $65,000 signing bonus, and Brown could receive a bonus in the range of $65,000-$75,000, if not slightly less.
Brown will have until Aug. 15 to sign with the Mariners. After that date, Seattle can no longer negotiate with him and he’ll have to return to school.
Should Brown, a League City native, choose to sign with the Mariners, he’ll officially conclude a bumpy three-year UH career. Since joining the Cougars as a promising fireballer in 2004, Brown has been used as a starter, middle reliever, set-up man and closer, though he never mastered either trade.
Brown’s best campaign came this season while filling the role of Friday starter. He went 6-6 with a 4.98 ERA with two saves in 20 appearances (15 starts). He finished second on the team in innings pitched (86.2) and strikeouts (54). At times he struggled with his command, and finished with a team-high 46 walks.
He got off to a decent start, and was 6-2 with a 3.90 ERA after tossing seven shutout innings in a 7-0 win over Tulane on April 20. After that, he never regained the winning touch, and finished the season with losses in four of his last five starts. His teammates also felt the sting of each loss as the Cougars dropped 11 of their last 16 games to finish 28-28.
Despite having a mediocre junior campaign, Brown remains a somewhat intriguing major league prospect. At 6 feet 6 inches tall and 200 pounds he has great size for a pitcher. He throws a fastball consistently in the 88-90 miles per hour range, which is slightly down from the 94 he threw coming out of high school. His repertoire also features a solid curveball and changeup, and scouts speculate that he could throw harder if he doesn’t short arm pitches.